FOI audit shows gov’t still keeping secrets

FOI audit shows gov’t still keeping secrets

When I sat down to crunch the raw data from the third annual CNA FOI audit, I hoped against hope that I’d discover a marked improvement in performance by Canada’s federal, provincial and municipal governments. Alas, I was to be disappointed. The final numbers actually got worse. There’s a chill wind blowing over the public’s right to know in Canada, and it’s being felt from the smallest town halls to the towers of bureaucracy in Ottawa-Gatineau. As you can read in this story by the Toronto Star’s Robert Cribb, our governments are still flunking when it comes to openness. A Star commentary offers further grist for the mill. And even though the audit is done, J-Source would like to hear more war stories, so feel free to share them.By Fred Vallance-Jones

When I sat down to crunch the raw data from the third annual CNA FOI audit, I hoped against hope that I’d discover a marked improvement in performance by Canada’s federal, provincial and municipal governments. Alas, I was to be disappointed. The final numbers actually got worse. There’s a chill wind blowing over the public’s right to know in Canada, and it’s being felt from the smallest town halls to the towers of bureaucracy in Ottawa-Gatineau. As you can read in this story by the Toronto Star’s Robert Cribb, our governments are still flunking when it comes to openness. A Star commentary offers further grist for the mill. And even though the audit is done, J-Source would like to hear more war stories, so feel free to share them.

J-Source and ProjetJ are publications of the Canadian Journalism Project, a venture among post-secondary journalism schools and programs across Canada, led by Ryerson University, Université Laval and Carleton University and supported by a group of donors.